Optical bench



y 20, 1952 c. w. NORTH 2,597,168

OPTICAL BENCH Filed Feb. 24, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 INVENTOR. CHARLES l L NORTH 32 1, ATTORNEYS c. w; NORTH May 20, 1952 OPTICAL BENCH 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed Feb. 24, 1948 Q-ulullllll.

3 7 3 I N H m M 1 m A ,7 J P V Patented May 20, 1952 7 2,597,168 HEA "cnsr ieswisrarm, in,

Application Feiifdafy 24, iais;-saseme diiib 7 Clainis.

.This invention relates to an opfiiial bench which is particularly adapted for measuringfocal -.lengths of lenses. The device is; extremely simpie in construction andis adapted. fpr easee-iof operation. The various elernentsinyoived nthe I there is mountedan iadjustabieie'n'ssupport struc u e e ea ly adius b o ihegv ri l positions necessary, and at the san e time the device is so constructed as to apourzgtely provide the information necessary "relative to the lenses to be measured. I r I i fi i r n \dbi' ct. vW2 i:' HPQ BJFW ,ti t Pm de n q i ealbsn wens s 1118 olixl-s st uqfi a a eqfi edy led un lent' for the purpose of taking desired nia'sms is O ti al ns 5' Qt olrpw's s o h nve se fi th foll w n e c p n 'ns s f ima'fii'ii s drawings and'will he pointed out in the annexed claims.

-5 9 siri fi j je de i ed. ry me th yeeql .=i of .th n e 'iti i tj nnd erstood that the inv ti t the xed a ure l li' i hnas, iqus sens aype made within the scope of the claims which follow.

,Ifn the drawifigsi v Figure. 1" presents a perspectiv of fine,

bled apparatus, showifig the; various supported upon a measuring device, 4 being composed of a light soliroe a refi'le pi'ate,

aieiis'support, and a jn irrfor support;

fnigure 2 is a 'sid 'eievation of theassnitied device; v v v, D J Figure 31s a cross-seesaw view'b'n the line" 3531 of Figure-'2;

Figure is a s de"eiey pibnftaizenfbs l 'ine 579N011? Figure 2; showing thedtails' ofthe reticle plate; v

Figure 8 is afragmentary pian flashingure'l. h, i h barti -l r e n e to: F su ve 1:; the ep dev he e n i ni h wn mpbse sofr a mea ur t ckl whicho (b fza suitab (m te a an fo sonven c emayi e o iixn e pmeie w m a u s i khaY- ne ome x eme uti e V units on one side and the British measuring-units i11 "be pointedoiit inore I "tabie ifiiriorsupport, I sigh 6e By thf niim'i-arl 14 is also maimedewts; measuring stick "axid is' longiiifs'j, the meager smn A; *w tzi 'ezer nee Mirerauds pi tes inay'lbe u bi-e "sheet material. and

pa'iror tspaced legs :16. The reticle provid'd wi'thfa'; series ofapertures l1 arong medial lin-i whichsemie the purpose" of '20 prsaiiemesn ontiofifiiaggx will be pointed out 3 hereinafter. The 'reticlezpi'atecis (attached 'to the iifeasdring s'tickby' the screws 18;ashereinbefore Kligl'ftsoufoe:|9, "which ma3i be of any suitable type as, for example, a .conyentional-jMazda la'mp .rbulb, is'shown'. supported behind thelretiele plate Jay means of: ahwi'rel support :20 which. surrounds "the lamp btflh-a'nd hasfhooksafl formed, at ;the :uendsiof its spaced le'gsadapted: to engagethe top '30 edge of the retielepl'ateaes shown in Figure 2;

Theilei'i'ssupport |=3' which is disposed'inter'me- 'diate thefend'sbf. the measuring Stick l,| is shown 'composedofan i'i'p'rig-ht rod- 22st the top of which :ismonnted a"bracket member 2 3', the bottompor- 3 tion? of which: isgeneraiiy V-shaped; and which has an upstandingjguide' por't-iorr 2-4. The lens clamping nien'rb erli is mountedfor vertica1 adjustnient 'upon-the.uprightizguidesgfly and isacomposed of a sliding portion 2-6 which s's'lides upon ithe guidei-member.v24',=" and a: spring arm portion ,Ztextendin'g' laterally from the slide portion- 26 :and adaptedtoeng'age the topedge portion of a 1ens,L;-supported-jinthebracketafl;; p

The; uprighfitposton rod 22 passes through; holes ;in aciamping: devicegenerall y designated by the numera1:,28;',:and 1,is-heid therein by :means: .of a

. wing screw, 29. The clamping device also: extends in an eneral-lk zsha erar und,th rmeasur n stick aandzmay-r es adiusta lmseeured thereto: in ad- J'usted posi ion bye: simil wines ew 30.

, The-mirror support: I54f3iszshownoff'substanviz ei y-1th:-h a nfz cenfisurat onzas; the 11 11 p ate J and a a putoytrpcz t onwfii-o provid ng spaned 1 ess-" 11.tiiefapnroximatece ter',ofathezplate 55 I4 thererlsprovide'd-an'opening- 33 through which the measuring stick passes. With particular reference to Figure 7, the mirror plate [4 is supported on the measuring stick by means of a spring element 34 which has a pair of notches 35 in its side edges, as shown. As will be seen, the spring element 34 is of a Width greater than the Width of the measuring stick, and is also wider than the aperture 33 in the mirror support 14. The notches 35 therefore engage the edges of the aperture 33 and assist in maintaining the mirror support approximately at right angles to the measuring stick ll.

The mirror support [4 is shown provided with I a depressed portion 36 which may be made by merely off-setting the central portion of the plate from the median plane of the plate. Suitably fastened to this depressed portion is a mirror 3' which preferably is a front surface mirror. By means of the depressed portion 36, the front surface of the mirror is in the same plane as the plane of the mirror support l4,:an d, accordingly, it is possible to measure distances from the mirrors surface by reference to the point by which the measuring stick passes through the mirror support. 4 j

This optical bench herein disclosed is capable of performing several different functions. For measuring the focal length of a lens, the device is assembled, as indicated in Figure 1. A monochromatic light, such as a Mazda light bulb; provides the illumination behindthereticle plate.

The lens L to be measured is mounted the lens support. The mirror plate I4 is then adjusted so that the reticle pattern appears near by in the center of the mirror. The lensis then placed near the mirror plate and is adjusted along the length of the measuring stick until the image appears on one of the screens. At this tentative reading, the mirror plate is moved directly behind the lens and adjusted for. the sharpest possible image on the screen, corresponding to the consistence of the length tobe made The focal length may then be read directly in the desired scale and thus the distance from the reticle plate to the lens support.

' For collimation, an objective lens may be set up in the holder 1 l, by adjusting the focal length as described above. When thelens has been positioned at its correct focal length, the lens holder is secured in position on the measuring stick I I, and the light emerging from the lens will be parallel and a dependable collimation will be formed. The mirror plate l4. may thenbe removed from the measuring stick and inverted cutout portions I5 and 31 in the reticle plate and the mirror plate, respectively, then permit an unobstructed passage of light through the lens system, and the device can be used as a completed instrument for viewing selected objects.

It will be apparent from the above description that the device described is simple in construction, is easy to operate, and at the same time permits accurate measurement of scale length and the performance of other optical functions.

While various modifications of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that the same is not limited thereto but may be varied within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an optical bench, an elongated measuring member generally rectangular in cross-section, a lens supporting device comprising clamping means having a generally U-shaped portion adapted to embrace the measuring member, fastening means on one arm of said U-shaped portion for fastening said clamping means to the measuring member, said clamping means having a channel shaped portion extending at right angles from the end of the other arm of said U- shaped portion, aligned apertures in the horizontal webs of said channel portion, a vertically disposed stem adjustably supported in said holes, a

generally V-shaped lens engaging member secured to the top of said stem with its apex disposed approximately over the center of the bottom of said U-shaped clamping portion, an upright carried by the V-shaped member and extending generally vertically from one arm of the V, and a spring finger adjustably mounted on said upright and extending outwardly over the open end of the V-shaped member and cooperating therewith to support a lens with the axis substantially parallel to the measuring member.

2. In an optical bench, an elongated measuring member generally rectangular in cross-section, a lens supporting device comprising clamping means having a generally U-shaped portion adapted to embrace the measuring member, fastening means on one arm of said U-shaped portion for fastening said clamping means to the measuring'member, said clamping means having a channel shaped portion extending at right angles from the end of the other arm of said U-shaped portion, aligned apertures in the horizontal Webs of said channel portion, a vertically disposed stem adjustably supported in said holes, a generally V-shaped lens engaging member secured to the top of said stem with its apex disposed approximately over the center of the bottom of said U-shaped clamping portion, an upright carried by the V-shaped member and extending generally vertically from one arm of the V, and a spring finger adjustably mounted on said upright and extending outwardly over the open end of the V-shaped member and cooperating therewith to support a lens with the axis substantially parallel to the measuring member, said V-shaped member and said spring finger contacting the peripheral edge only of said lens, whereby unobstructed vision is provided throughout the entire remaining area of said lens.

3. In an optical bench, an elongated measur- 60 ing member generally rectangular in cross-section, a lens supporting device comprising clamping means having a generally U-shaped portion adapted to embrace the measuring member, fastening means on one arm of said U-shaped portion for fastening said clamping means to the measuring member, said clamping means having a channel shaped portion extending at right angles from the end of the other arm of said U-shaped portion, aligned apertures in the horizontal webs of said channel portion, a vertically disposed stem adjustably supported in said holes, a generally V-shaped lens engaging member secured to the top of said stem with its apex disposed approximately over the center of the bottom of said U-shaped clamping portion, an upright carried by the V-shaped member and extending generally vertically from one armof the V, and a spring finger adjustably mounted on said upright and extending outwardly over the open end of the V-shaped member and cooperating therewith to support a lens with the axis substantially parallel to the measuring member, said V-shaped member and said spring finger being fiat-surfaced and contacting the peripheral edge of said lens only at three points, whereby an unobstructed view is provided throughout the entire remaining surface of said lens. 1

4. In an optical bench having an elongated measuring member, a lens supporting device comprising clamping means having a first channel shaped portion adapted to embrace said elongated measuring member, fastening means onone web of said channel portion for fastening said clamping means to said measuring member, said channel means having a second channel means extending from the other web of said first channel means, aligned apertures in the webs of said second channel means, a stem adjustably supported in said apertures, a cradle means adapted for receiving the bottom of a lens therein secured to the top of said stem, an upright carried by,

said cradle means and extending generally vertically from one edge thereof, and resilient means adjustably mounted on said upright and extending outwardly over the open portion' of said cradle means and cooperating therewith to support a lens with the axis substantially parallel to said elongated measuring member.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 further characterized in that said resilient means comprises a spring finger extending outwardly over the open portion of said cradle means, said spring finger being adapted in cooperation with said upright for slidable adjustment thereon.

6. Theapparatus of claim 4 further characterized in that the center of said cradle means is disposed approximately over the center of the bottom of said elongated measuring member .6 1 and said upright is attached to said cradle means in off-set relation to said center.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 further characterized in that said cradle means is adapted for cooperation with said spring finger whereby a lens of varying size may, be supported with its axis substantially parallel to said elongated measuring member and with its axis disposed in substantially vertical relation thereto.

CHARLES W. NORTH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 562,424 Ritchie June 23, 1896 703,729 Kupper July 1, 1902 730,016 Hein June 2, 1903 996,017 Haynes June 20, 1911 1,047,000 De Zeng Dec. 10, 1912 1,057,262 Oldfield Mar. 25, 1913 1,088,137 Fidjeland Feb. 24. 1914 1,118,187 Depue Nov. 24, 1914 1,309,359 Kellner July 8, 1919 1,386,611 Ely Aug. 9, 1921 1,622,776 Fisher Mar. 29, 1927 1,869,512 Schnabl Aug. 2, 1932 2,133,598 Torbert Oct. 18, 1938 2,261,978 Dlrksen Nov. 11, 1941 2,430,551 Arnold et a1 Nov. 11, 1947 2,444,457 Marks et al. July 6, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 306,297 Great Britain Feb. 21, 1929 OTHER. REFERENCES Central Instrument Co.," Catalogue 11-481 (1948), Chicago, page 260'. (Copy in Design Division.) 

